Drier



March 3`1, 1953 A. RoBERTscN DRIER Filed Oct. 25, 1951 3 Sheets-Shea?. l

|| llnlllkl March 31, 1953 A. oBERTsoN DRIER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 001;. 25, 1951 March 31, 1953 A. ROBERTSON DRIER 5 Shee'ts-Shee 3 Filed 0G13. 25, 1951 @Za/minder azz Patented Mar. 314,V 1953 DRIER Alexander Robertson, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Venango Engineering Co., Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application october 25, 1951, ser'iaiNmasaMo 1o claims. (c1. sigles) This invention relates to garment dryers More particularly, it relates to garment-drying apparatus for articles which have been bleached, dyed and washed or similarly treated. The invention is useful for drying articles of various sorts but finds particular utility in drying hosiery.

It is an object of the invention to provide economical and simple garment-drying apparatus of less length than heretofore yet affording full time for drying without sacrificeof quality and durability. e i

Another object is toprovide in an apparatus of the foregoing type means particularly for drying those parts of the garment which are last or most difficult to dry. e

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as it is described'in connection with Y of the invention;

Fig. 2` is an end elevation view partly broken [away of the entrance end of the invention shown in Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section view taken along line 3--3 of Fig. 1 Y

Y Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view in perspective oi one side of a tray as used in Figs. 1-3;

Fig. 5, is a transverse vertical section view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 6 and 7 are views similar to Fig." 1 but of two other forms of the invention. e

Referring to thedrawings, the dryer D in Figs. 1-5 is enclosed within a'rectangular housing having vertical parallel side WallsV Ill, I2 and end walls I3, It. Rising in extension of the side Walls II), I2 at their 'mid-portions are parallel walls I5, 'I1 joined by vertical parallel end walls I6 and I8 forming a rectangular tower covered :by a top Vwal1 I9. lPreferably the tower walls are insulated to minimize heat loss by having sheets of heat insulating material attached in any suitable conventional fashion to the insidesurface of the vertical and top Walls.

To provide heat within the housing, an electric heating unit is located just below the top of the tower. lThe unit is comprised of a series of interconnectedelectrically resistant rod or wires 22. The invention isf not limited to such heating means however since other suitable heating means may beemployed. Y

Circulation lof air or 'other .drying medium through the housing is eifected by means of a fan 24a mounted in a rectangular box-like cupola 2t above an opening in thetop wall of the housing. AirI is drawn in through an inlet opening 3` in the cupola, forced downwardly through the housingA by the fan 24a, and exhausted therefrom through an outlet opening 64 in the lower portion of the housing. A conduit 2 I- positioned exteriorly of the dryer housing interconnects the inlet and outlet openings 23 and 64, respectively, to permit recirculation of any desired portion of the air. A pair of adjustable dampers 2Ia and 2lb are provided in the conduit 2| to permit the desired quantity of fresh air tobedrawn into the hous- For conveying articles through the heated housing, amoving conveyor is provided comprising two spaced parallel link chains 35, 32 which move in planes parallel to the side walls of the housing. These chains pass around rotating power-driven sprocket wheels 3I at opposite ends `of a shaft 34 transversely mounted at one end of the housing in bearings in the opposite side walls of the housing. Similar sprockets 35 are on` a similar shaft 36 similarly mounted at the opposite end of the housing.

To carry the conveyor chains up into the tower, each chain passes around a sprocket 38 on a stub shaft ri9. These two shafts 39 are aligned and are located at the lower corners of the tower and are `journalled in bearings in the side walls of the tower. From sprockets 38, the chains run verti-` cally to and around sprockets 42 on stub shafts t3 in bearings 44 withinthe side walls of the tower in the neighborhood o the heating unit, all similarly to the sprockets 38. The chain then runs horizontally under and parallel to the heating unit to other similarly mounted sprockets i5 and then down to and around sprockets 4B like and mounted similarly to sprocket 38 but in opposite lower corners of the tower. The chains then run horizontally to and around sprockets 35.

To support the chains between sprockets 3i and 35, they pass` over sprockets 5B on stub shafts 9 in the side walls of the housing.

For supporting and carrying the articles to` be dried, traysare pivotally suspended at spaced points alongV and between the chains. Each tray may comprise a platform 5B of Wire mesh or screen or other latticed or perforated material through which air can circulate. Arectangular frame 52 around the mesh 5! has triangular supporting plates 54 attachedv to and extending perpendcularly upward at its ends with a, laterallyextending hollow bearing member 55 affixed to the apex of each plate to loosely receive pins 53 extending laterally inward from the chains. at spaced points. Gravity will hold the trays with their platforms horizontal as the conveyor moves around its path, whether the movement be verings in their top surfaces to permit deposit of garments on said conveyor through one opening and removal through the other opening.

7. A garment dryer as claimed in claim 3 having means causing said conveyor to run horizontally adjacent the top of the tower, said deecting means being between the top of the tower and said tower-top run of the conveyor.

8. A garment dryex` as claimed in claim 3 having a heating unit adjacent the top of the tower, said deiecting means being'between said unit and the path of the conveyor in the upper part of the tower causingT the incoming air to be heated during its deection to the ends of the carrying means.

9. A garment dryer as claimed in claim 2 having a heating unit adjacent the top of the tower, said deecting means being between said unit REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the V:file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 382,800 Dixon May 15, 1888 1,383,053 Allsop et al June 28, 1921 

